Shawn Vanzant returns to Butler with Lincoln Memorial team

Butler Bulldogs head coach Brad Stevens talks with guard Shawn Vanzant in the second half during the NCAA Men's Final Four at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas on April 2, 2011. The Bulldogs won 70-62 over VCU. Vanzant is now an assistant coach for Lincoln Memorial, which plays Butler at 7 p.m. Saturday.(Photo: Matt Detrich/IndyStar)Buy Photo

INDIANAPOLIS – There are two enduring memories from Shawn Vanzant’s senior basketball season at Butler:

• In an IndyStar interview, Vanzant spoke matter-of-factly about Houston, site of the 2011 NCAA Final Four. It seemed like a foolish remark, given that the Bulldogs had fallen to 6-5 in the Horizon League and 14-9 overall. How were they going to get into the tournament?

“We were going through a rough patch, everyone was doubting us,” Vanzant said this week. “We knew what we had in that locker room. I always thought we could get there.”

• In the aftermath of a 74-71 overtime win over Florida that sent Butler to another Final Four, Vanzant left his teammates’ New Orleans celebration to sit on the bench, head down, alone. Houston was indeed the destination. It was a lot to process.

“I’m soaking it all in,” he said at the time.

Vanzant is sure to soak it all in at 7 p.m. Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

He is an assistant coach for Lincoln Memorial in a game that will be Butler’s second exhibition. The Bulldogs open the season Nov. 10 against Kennesaw State.

Lincoln Memorial is an NCAA Division II school in Harrogate, Tenn., with undergraduate enrollment of 1,919. The Railsplitters, ranked No. 4 nationally, are coming off three-successive 30-win seasons and have reached the past two national semifinals.

Vanzant, 29, of Tampa, Fla., was part of a 2011 class that won 117 games, second-most in Butler history. Other seniors were Matt Howard, Zach Hahn, Grant Leiendecker and Alex Anglin.

Vanzant and former Butler assistant coach Terry Johnson are brothers-in-law. Vanzant and wife Carol have a 6-month-old daughter, Lena Mae.

“I’ve been thinking about coming back to Hinkle and sitting on the opposing bench,” Vanzant said. “It’s going to be weird. I look forward to coming back and seeing old faces.”

Then Butler player Shawn Vanzant headed to the court for warmups in 2011, when Butler played in the NCAA championship vs. UConn in Houston's Reliant Stadium.(Photo: Sean Dougherty/USAT)

If there were an All-Butler Way team, Vanzant would belong. He was a selfless player and strong defender who labored with modest statistics — 8.1 points per game as a senior — and no fanfare.

One exception was a Horizon League semifinal against Cleveland State at Milwaukee. Vanzant scored all of his season-high 18 in the closing 13 minutes, leading the Bulldogs to a 76-68 victory. He was one of three Bulldogs on the all-tournament team, joining all-time greats Howard and Shelvin Mack.

Vanzant went on to play pro basketball through 2016, including three seasons in Canada. He also played in Finland, Ireland and the NBA Development League. He helped the Island Storm reach the 2014 finals of the Canadian league.

In 2015-16, he averaged 24.7 points and 5.3 assists in 18 games for the Belfast Star of the Irish Premier League. On March 5, 2016 — exactly five years after his outburst against Cleveland State — he scored 37 in his final game with the Irish club.

“Butler was very team first, play together,” he said. “When you go pro, it’s kind of like me-me-me-me. When you’re in the pros, stats really matter.”

Vanzant’s favorite Hinkle moment was from his freshman year, when Butler came from behind for a 65-46 win over Ohio State, led by former Butler coach Thad Matta.

Otherwise, Butler memories are more about off-court camaraderie than the games: the bus rides, the joking, the 2009 summer trip to Italy. He attended the Boston Celtics’ training camp, where he connected with former Butler coach Brad Stevens and assistant Micah Shrewsberry. Vanzant stays in touch regularly with Howard.

He graduated in criminology but decided he wanted to go into coaching. He became a graduate assistant at Lincoln Memorial, then was promoted to assistant by coach Josh Schertz when a spot opened. Schertz is a three-time national coach of the year and has led Lincoln Memorial to a 200-30 record (.870) over the past seven seasons.